(The following story by Aaron Porter appeared on The Daily Sentinel website on February 11.)
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — Railroad traffic is expected to resume Thursday on the branch line where a coal train derailed on a bridge west of Austin.
A section of the bridge spanning the Gunnison River collapsed, derailing part of a 105-car train Monday morning.
Derailed freight cars were removed from the damaged area by Tuesday, allowing a contractor to begin the bridge repairs, said John Bromley, spokesman for Union Pacific Railroad. Union Pacific expects the track to be operational by early Thursday morning.
The train was carrying 12,000 tons of coal from a mine operated by Bowie Resources Ltd. when it derailed at 9:13 a.m. Monday on the old bridge. Apparently a bridge beam collapsed underneath the track, shifting the rails out of alignment and derailing 16 cars, Bromley said.
Two freight cars in the damaged section were pulled to a more stable area of the bridge, but they remained derailed Tuesday, Bromley said. They will likely be shifted back onto the rail and pulled away after the bridge is repaired, he said.
The bridge is more than 100 years old, according to Bill Bear, manager of sales and transportation. He noted Union Pacific has made extensive improvements in recent years to the branch line leading from Grand Junction to three coal mines near Paonia.
Bowie Resources planned to continue mining operations, stockpiling the coal until rail transportation resumes, Bear said. Union Pacific typically sends extra trains after repairs are made to catch up on delayed shipments, Bromley said.